Auqib Nabi, Prince Yadav join team India as net bowlers ahead of Afghanistan Test

Emerging Indian pacers Auqib Nabi and Prince Yadav have been included among six net bowlers selected to assist Team India during their preparations for the one-off Test against Afghanistan, scheduled to begin on June 6 in New Chandigarh. 

Alongside the two fast bowlers, seamer Gurjapneet Singh and spin trio of Shivang Kumar, Saransh Jain, and Zeeshan Ansari will also join the Indian camp as net bowlers ahead of the historic fixture.

Prince Yadav had a tremendous Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 for Lucknow Super Giants, and is already a part of India’s ODI squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan that follows the Test. Meanwhile, Auqib Nabi was considered a strong contender for a place in the Test squad after producing outstanding performances for Jammu and Kashmir over the past two domestic seasons.

The right-arm pacer played a crucial role in Jammu and Kashmir’s maiden Ranji Trophy triumph earlier this year. Nabi finished as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker, claiming 60 wickets at an exceptional average of 12.56, which also earned him the Player of the Tournament award. Despite his remarkable numbers, he narrowly missed out on selection as the national selectors opted for only three specialist seamers in the squad, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Gurnoor Brar.

Explaining the decision, chief selector Ajit Agarkar had given clarification and the reasoning behind Auqib’s non selection.

“You do not necessarily pick a lot of seamers when you pick a Test team in India. And he was close. But at this point, we have gone with the three that we have picked,” exclaimed Agarkar.

The upcoming contest will mark only the second Test meeting between India and Afghanistan. Their first encounter came in 2018 in Bengaluru, which was also Afghanistan’s maiden Test match. India dominated that game from start to finish, securing a comprehensive victory by an innings and 262 runs within just two days.

Team India for Afghanistan one off Test:

Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel

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